I have a bias against using "steel" ammo in anything expect an AK; and I don't have an AK. That said, I deliberately purchased 100 rounds of steel jacketed 7.62 x 51 ammo to shoot through my new M1a Scout. Here is why:
I bought a new Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mag single action revolver in 1982. It turned out super accurate and did not lead the barrel at all with hard cast bullets. The cheapest reloadable factory ammo I could buy at the time was 400 rounds of Norma softnose. These happened to have copper washed steel jackets.
My theory is that, because I first shot 200 rounds of steel bullets through the Ruger, the barrel was "burnished" before I shot any lead through it.
The idea is that any high spots down the barrel would have been "pushed in" or "worn down" more by the steel bullets, ensuring a parallel bore, or one that tapers down slightly towards the muzzle.
Not only would the bore have been smoother, but the "hard" steel bullets would tend to result in a barrel that was ever so slightly "wider" at the breech than at the muzzle. The lands or land corners would effectively taper slightly towards the muzzle, so they were always in hard contact with the bullets, all the way out the muzzle.
All I know is that the Ruger would shoot 2" groups at 25 yards using a two handed grip, with me standing unsupported on my hind legs. I don't know what it would do over sand bags, but it was plenty accurate for metallic silhouette shooting.
I am planning to shoot some NATO steel jacketed ammo through my M1a to burnish the barrel, or at least smooth out the leade ahead of the chamber. The reason why this may work is precisely because "steel ammo will wear out your barrel faster". However, I don't plan to shoot more than 100 rounds before a diet of copper only.
Does anyone one see any merit in shooting a limited quantity of "steel" ammo from a new barrel; rather than just looking at it as not doing much harm?
These guys shot 10,000 rounds of steel ammo at very high continuous rates from AR15s, and compared the wear against copper jacketed bullets. The accurate barrel life, shooting steel, was half that for copper; under these conditions: http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/
I bought a new Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Mag single action revolver in 1982. It turned out super accurate and did not lead the barrel at all with hard cast bullets. The cheapest reloadable factory ammo I could buy at the time was 400 rounds of Norma softnose. These happened to have copper washed steel jackets.
My theory is that, because I first shot 200 rounds of steel bullets through the Ruger, the barrel was "burnished" before I shot any lead through it.
The idea is that any high spots down the barrel would have been "pushed in" or "worn down" more by the steel bullets, ensuring a parallel bore, or one that tapers down slightly towards the muzzle.
Not only would the bore have been smoother, but the "hard" steel bullets would tend to result in a barrel that was ever so slightly "wider" at the breech than at the muzzle. The lands or land corners would effectively taper slightly towards the muzzle, so they were always in hard contact with the bullets, all the way out the muzzle.
All I know is that the Ruger would shoot 2" groups at 25 yards using a two handed grip, with me standing unsupported on my hind legs. I don't know what it would do over sand bags, but it was plenty accurate for metallic silhouette shooting.
I am planning to shoot some NATO steel jacketed ammo through my M1a to burnish the barrel, or at least smooth out the leade ahead of the chamber. The reason why this may work is precisely because "steel ammo will wear out your barrel faster". However, I don't plan to shoot more than 100 rounds before a diet of copper only.
Does anyone one see any merit in shooting a limited quantity of "steel" ammo from a new barrel; rather than just looking at it as not doing much harm?
These guys shot 10,000 rounds of steel ammo at very high continuous rates from AR15s, and compared the wear against copper jacketed bullets. The accurate barrel life, shooting steel, was half that for copper; under these conditions: http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/